It’s a good thing we use battery back-ups, or the space for this week’s column would be blank inches of newsprint.

Monday’s mid-afternoon downpour in Shallotte caused a chorus of thunder and lightning—causing the Beacon’s power to flicker and computers to begin their own chorus of buzzing and other gut-wrenching sounds—before the rain ever fell.

I should have expected it. In the wake of the YMCA’s announcement that it has officially change its name to “The Y,” its sister association, the YWCA, has issued a statement about its concerns over name recognition—ensuring the public that it, too, can still be referred to as “The Y” in casual conversations.

While our submissions so far have been cats and dogs, we welcome submissions of photographs of all types of pets you’ve welcomed to your home—birds, snakes, lizards, mice, hamsters, fish...you name it.

“Mommy, I want sumpin’ to drink,” wailed the unhappy toddler from the backseat. “I want juice.”
“I know, honey,” I said. “I’ll get you some when I get home. Mommy’s driving right now.”
“Oh-kay,” he said whimpering.
I glanced in the rearview mirror. My 2-year-old son was slumped in his car seat, sticking Spiderman and Blue’s Clues stickers on my car’s back window. He appeared to be occupied for the moment.

Somewhere along the line I learned a valuable, on-the-job lesson—follow the money.

Let me rephrase that—always follow the money.

There might be some twists and turns along the way, but, more often than not, it will usually take you to where you want to go.

This fiscal rule of thumb pertains to politicians and government officials who are in or are yet to be in office. Campaign finance reports, for instance, are like a window into a candidate’s brain. You thought I was going to say soul, didn’t you?

Nine out of 10 people who hear the classic Village People song “YMCA” at a sporting event, wedding or the local karaoke bar are genetically programmed to start singing along and making the letters with their arms.

Most of us have come to terms with this predisposition and have stopped fighting it. We’ll start awkwardly flailing our arms the minute we hear the first notes of the song coming over the speakers.

Do you remember “Those Oldies but Goodies” that made you want to “Rock Around the Clock?”

Well, “Sh-Boom!” Put on your “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Come Go With Me” to the historic Amuzu Theatre in downtown Southport. See for yourself “What Made the Clock Rock,” a musical revue of some of the greatest songs from 1950-1964.

Twenty local vocalists, myself included, will perform five shows beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 21-Sunday, July 25.

It’s happening again. Every time a new generation of 20-somethings enters the working world, the stereotyping and generalizing hits the media full force.

A quick Internet search reveals that people in their 20s (also known as “millennials” or “Generation Y”) are now being labeled as being born with a sense of entitlement, doted on by parents who told them they were “special” and given roomfuls of trophies just for participating. Numerous articles have been published about how to deal with them in the workplace.